I'm thinking about planning a trip to Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Ukraine) to see the towns where my family came from. Is it difficult for Americans to visit Ukraine in terms of getting visas and being allowed to travel without a "minder"? (I.e. I heard that American travelers in Russia must be accompanied by a minder - not sure if this is true.)
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
U.S. citizens no longer need a visa to visit Ukraine, as long as the visit is 90 days or less. It's the same as western Europe. Ukraine is an independent country, no longer part of Russia. You do not have to have a "minder." You can find more detailed info at travel.state.gov, just go to "international" and then choose "Ukraine."
Posted by
Berkeley, CA, USA
28 posts
Yes, you do not have to have a visa and you do not have to have a minder. I would advise, however, that you come to Ukraine on the plane. Last year I travelled by train and, at the Ukraine border had my passport taken for 2 hours by someone that I was not sure was even a police official... at midnight... It was very frightening. Perviously I had come on the airplane and had no problems there.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1610 posts
Last year we crossed into Ukraine from Slovakia on a bus at a fairly obscure border crossing and didn't have any issues. It did take about 45 mins for the immigration folks to process the whole bus.
Posted by
OP
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
Thanks for the advice. I will definitely keep it in mind to arrive by plane. Do Ukrainians generally know some English? I can say "yes," "no," "thank you," and a couple of swear words. :)
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1610 posts
In Kiev you may get lucky. Elsewhere, do not expect folks to speak any English.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
334 posts
A follow-up to previous reply - In Ukraine, the young people (like high-school/college age) now have had a number of years of classroom english - and love to use it if you'll give them a chance - though they may giggle a bit through it. I'd definitely take a good translation book or program - with the Cyrillic alphabet it's a challenge. If you have a chance, do go into the metro in Kiev - it's a bit of a zoo, especially during rush hour, but the stations underground are beautiful - also, the destinations are written with arrows on the wall across the tracks from the platform, so if you know where you are and can figure out your destination, you'll be ok. I would NOT do it during rush hour unless you are with someone experienced. Also, if you are looking for family villages, etc., be aware that names have changed, sometimes several times, but most recently from Russian to Ukrainian (not just spelling, sometimes the whole name is totally different) - it may take some research to figure it out.